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Actually, this is a good suggestion! Both places are scenic, offer decent barbecue, and wouldn't take you 45 mins. to drive to from your hotel. I don't know about ribs there, but this is a good selection for tourists, and let's face it............you're tourists!...........not BBQ "purists."

I don't get this idea that "tourists" should automatically be considered to not need or want the better options. I certainly, when I'm traveling, try to eat at good local places, rather than "where all the tourists go", and that's made much easier with forums like this these days.

I don't get this idea that "tourists" should automatically be considered to not need or want the better options. I certainly, when I'm traveling, try to eat at good local places, rather than "where all the tourists go", and that's made much easier with forums like this these days.

I agree with that statement......and really, all our "tourists" want to go to Salt Lick. But, do these people really want to drive all the way to Driftwood which has been the suggestion.....albeit started in the Houston Forum?

Yes, there are plenty of other good places, but if your time is limited, and you don't have time to stand -in- line- for- an- hour -before- they- run- out -of -meat kinda places, and if you prefer ribs vs brisket, and you're a tourist from Alabama, I think County Line is just fine.

BTW.....nothing against being a tourist from Alabama......you just probably don't eat a lot of BBQed brisket there which is a "bone of contention" here.

This County Line nonsense has to end. There is a reason County Line, Rudy's, or Bill Miller's has never appeared on ANY list of the best places in the state - they are CHAINS! They are middle -of-the-road safe, aimed at mediocrity and volume.

The track record of Franklin and Salt Lick is indisputable. Bon Appetit called Franklin the "best BBQ in America". At last fall's Texas Monthly BBQ festival, they were voted the best brisket in the state from a select group of the 23 best BBQ restaurants in the state. Salt Lick, unlike Rudy's or any other "fine establishment in our city", was Honorable Mention in Texas Monthly's 2008 list of the Best 50 in the state - and was one of the 23 at the festival. (n.b. Mann's and Lambert's were in the top 50, just not at the Festival), JMueller's wasn't there because they just opened - but Aaron Franklin LEARNED to cook from John Mueller. And most who have been to both (including me) put the two at neck and neck. They are head and shoulders above anything this side of Lockhart or Taylor.

My father was a hunter for good BBQ. We went to City Market in Luling, City Meat Market in Giddings, and the original Kreuz's (now Smitty's) in Lockhart back to the sixties - when they didn't serve sides (except saltines, jalapeños, crackers and cheddar cheese - all of which are still found at the historic places like these and Louie Mueller's in Taylor), there were no utensils except a knife chained to the table, and the sauce - if there was any - was in a bottle on the table. If you will notice the common threads there - German and/or meat market, you will see the historic ties to the German and Czech butchers who settled central Texas and smoked unsold meats at the weekend rather than let spoil in pre-refrigeration days. The best places today preserve and honor that heritage. If valuing the best expressions of that heritage makes me a "purist", then so be it. "Purists" prefer Eddie V's over Outback, Jack Allan's over Z Tejas, Galatoire's over Copeland's, Dot's (may she RIP) over Church's, and Matt's over Chuy's.

If the OP wants mediocre, heck, there's a Bill Miller closer than either local County Line, so why drive all that way? But that isn't what they asked for - they asked for the best. And they got it - Franklin, JMueller's, Mann's, Salt Lick, and (pricey!) Lambert's. Any one if thise will be fine. But for all that is holy, please don't make your one stop in Austin for BBQ at a Rudy's or County Line.

This County Line nonsense has to end. There is a reason County Line, Rudy's, or Bill Miller's has never appeared on ANY list of the best places in the state - they are CHAINS! They are middle -of-the-road safe, aimed at mediocrity and volume.

The track record of Franklin and Salt Lick is indisputable. Bon Appetit called Franklin the "best BBQ in America". At last fall's Texas Monthly BBQ festival, they were voted the best brisket in the state from a select group of the 23 best BBQ restaurants in the state. Salt Lick, unlike Rudy's or any other "fine establishment in our city", was Honorable Mention in Texas Monthly's 2008 list of the Best 50 in the state - and was one of the 23 at the festival. (n.b. Mann's and Lambert's were in the top 50, just not at the Festival), JMueller's wasn't there because they just opened - but Aaron Franklin LEARNED to cook from John Mueller. And most who have been to both (including me) put the two at neck and neck. They are head and shoulders above anything this side of Lockhart or Taylor.

My father was a hunter for good BBQ. We went to City Market in Luling, City Meat Market in Giddings, and the original Kreuz's (now Smitty's) in Lockhart back to the sixties - when they didn't serve sides (except saltines, jalapeños, crackers and cheddar cheese - all of which are still found at the historic places like these and Louie Mueller's in Taylor), there were no utensils except a knife chained to the table, and the sauce - if there was any - was in a bottle on the table. If you will notice the common threads there - German and/or meat market, you will see the historic ties to the German and Czech butchers who settled central Texas and smoked unsold meats at the weekend rather than let spoil in pre-refrigeration days. The best places today preserve and honor that heritage. If valuing the best expressions of that heritage makes me a "purist", then so be it. "Purists" prefer Eddie V's over Outback, Jack Allan's over Z Tejas, Galatoire's over Copeland's, Dot's (may she RIP) over Church's, and Matt's over Chuy's.

If the OP wants mediocre, heck, there's a Bill Miller closer than either local County Line, so why drive all that way? But that isn't what they asked for - they asked for the best. And they got it - Franklin, JMueller's, Mann's, Salt Lick, and (pricey!) Lambert's. Any one if thise will be fine. But for all that is holy, please don't make your one stop in Austin for BBQ at a Rudy's or County Line.

I LOVE it! Are you and 'austin-steve' related somehow? ...and I mean that in only the most complimentary way! Such impassioned eloquence!

We have a couple of visitors in this weekend and I'm doing what I can to make sure that Chuy's and Rudy's aren't the 'must go' places on the itinerary. Go there--yes...go there first/only--I hope not! For me, County Line falls into that same group, except that it is not so well known that folks come to town thinking they 'must' go there. I actually enjoyed the two times I visited CL...just wasn't anything special, IMO.

Heck, Flip Happy likely doesn't have the best crepes in the state; but I usually try to work in a visit there when someone new comes to town. Same for Johnny T's Round Rock BBQ, Moonie's Burgers, Austin Diner and a few other places I've come to enjoy. Sorry for leaving the BBQ train!

Wow, wow, wow! So much to consider. This is our dilema on time - my husband will be in a fishing tournament until 6 p.m. We will have met that morning at 4:30 a.m. That evening we don't want to drive far for dinner if you can understand how tired we will be. That is why I was trying to avoid Salt Lick and that drive. Rudy's was mentioned by several earlier being good and I looked it up online, but the past few posts Rudy's is not recommended because it's a chain (which I didn't know). My hubby and I both will order pork ribs whichever place we go to so forget the brisket, etc.

Question - JMuerller and Franklin's: I may have looked up a wrong site but aren't both of those just trailers that they cook out of and you eat outside? We definitely want an indoor restaurant, even if the BBQ is great, but then again, we will be going in the evening and they would have been sold out, but are they really food trailers?

And on the Mexican restaurant, Chuy's was the one recommended by most followed by Matt's El Rancho. Haven't figured out which Mexican to go to either and do not need the "inner Mexico" foods as one poster so helpfully told us about.

And regarding spending one of those days (before the tournament) window shopping on Congress - how far down are we talking on Congress? In other words, where should be drive to and park so we can walk from one end to the other?

^Yeah, JMueller and I think Franklin too are outdoor seating only. If you want indoor only that's cool, but al fresco dining in Austin is awesome.

I went to Chuy's yesterday and go to Matt's El Rancho often, and I say unequivocally Matt's. Although I think Trudy's is better than both.

There is back-in angle parking all up and down S Congress...you can park just south of the river & downtown (say, just south of Riverside) and start walking south, you'll see everything. Downtown & SoCo are really only separated by the river and a couple apartment complexes.

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